Prevalence of PTSD in a community sample of older adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
To examine prevalence and correlates of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and diagnosis in older adolescents aged 16 through 22 years.


METHODS
The second cycle of a longitudinal epidemiological study in the Southeast included a semistructured interview assessing PTSD symptomatology administered to 490 adolescents.


RESULTS
Approximately 3% of female subjects and 1% of male subjects satisfied the DSM-IV criteria for PTSD. Females reported more traumatic events than males, and black subjects reported more events than white subjects. Being female (odds ratio = 12.32), experiencing rape or child sexual abuse (odds ratio = 49.37), and witnessing an accident or medical emergency (odds ratio = 85.02) were associated with increased risk of PTSD.


CONCLUSIONS
While relatively few adolescents satisfy the criteria for PTSD, most subjects who experienced a traumatic event reported some PTSD symptoms. Specific types of traumatic events were associated with occurrence of PTSD.
Cuffe
S P
SP
Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA.
Addy
C L
CL
Garrison
C Z
CZ
Waller
J L
JL
Jackson
K L
KL
McKeown
R E
RE
Chilappagari
S
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012494:Sampling Studies; D013022:South Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*